The active promotion of strawberry cultivation as a means to bolster agriculture and farmers’ income has been gaining momentum, particularly in the central province of Konya in Turkey.
Notably, the districts of Hüyük in Konya and Sason in Batman are leading the charge, boasting organically grown strawberries and fertile Anatolian soil.
The initiative, a part of efforts by provincial and district directorates of agriculture and municipalities to distribute free seedlings, has spurred rural development and reversed urban migration, with Hüyük emerging as a model project.
Its success has prompted a significant increase in strawberry cultivation, which started with a few thousand acres and now exceeds 20,000 acres.
As intermediary companies currently facilitate international sales, producers are eyeing government support for direct exports.
“Good yield and high price return from a small area please the farmer. As an alternative production, it has an increasing momentum in recent years. We also request support for export or processing without intermediaries,” said Ertuğrul Zedef, the president of Hüyük’s Agricultural Chamber.
